Halo Reach: Noble Legacy
by Titanium Gold
Summary: What if a few more Spartans had survived Reach? Would it be enough to turn the tide - or would ONI's machinations render their presence moot? Find out here - in the story of a Noble Legacy.
1. Departure, Discovery, Survival

_**Disclaimer: "Halo", "Halo: Reach" and all related content belongs to Bungie (though Microsoft owns the rights, far as I know). I do not work for either company – the closest I'll ever get to owning any of their Halo stuff is buying their games. Any similarities between this and other Halo: Reach fics are completely unintentional – despite elements of Akatsuki Leader13's work being found in the first two chapters or so. My apologies again for stepping on your toes, my fellow writer – let the record show that I meant no offense.**_

A/N: The damn muse is taking me all over the place... first delve into Halo: Reach fanfiction; or Halo fics in general, for that matter. The plot bunnies won't leave me alone after reading those Noble Six tributes, so here I am with my effort. To any fans of my other fics, bear with me – this had to be written.

As per the norm with my work, some creative liberties will be taken – that is the point of fanfiction, after all – due to rather mild inconsistencies found between "Halo: Reach" and the novel _Fall of Reach_, and just because this is my damn take on things.

For those who care for such things, here are my Noble Six/B312's armor specs as of current posting date:

Helmet: ODST CBRN/HUL

Shoulders: ODST

Chest: HP/Halo

Utility: Tactical/Hard Case

Wrist: Tactical/TACPAD

Knees: Grenadier

Emblem: Maroon/Silver Dog-Tags over steel-colored shield

Primary Color: Maroon

Secondary Color: Steel

"My" Six is female; her name **will **be given in this chapter, and there **will **be romance for her – eventually. It wouldn't be a Noble Mission if it were easy, after all.

Here's to you, Bungie – for leaving the Halo legacy with a bang.

* * *

_Halo Reach: Noble Legacy_

_Chapter 1: Departure and Discovery, Survival and Selection_

"_You'll have your window, sir." – Emile-A239_

"_Good luck to you, Spartan." – Captain Jacob Keyes, "Halo: Reach"

* * *

_

_(Aszod Ship Breaking Yards, Reach, 1800 hrs, August 30__th__ 2552)_

"Emile, behind you!" Noble Six screamed as she saw a glint of light behind her comrade; the newest (and final) member of Noble Team watched as Emile, acknowledging her cry, turned from the Elite Zealot he'd just killed – and shot a second one point-blank in the head.

"_Thanks, Six!" _the Assault specialist replied over the com, _"All clear here!"_

"Keep it that way, will you Emile?" Six asked, a rare dose of amusement lacing her voice, "Watch your back. _Pillar of Autumn, _this is Noble Six – LZ is clear, though I can't guarantee it'll stay that way for long. You'd better get down here; pick up the package before more Covenant butt in."

"_Copy that, Noble Six,"_ Keyes replied, _"We're en route to you now."_

"_You'll have a clear window, sir," _Emile added, _"I'll make sure of it myself."_

"_Thank you, Noble Four." _Keyes replied as two Pelicans took off from the _Autumn_, _"Good hunting."_

As Six shouldered her shotgun and picked up her DMR from where it had been slapped away, she smirked under her helmet. As long and hard as the fight she just went through had been, she wouldn't have it any other way. Watching as the odd curious Phantom or Banshee was decimated by Emile's use of the Mass Driver, Six had to admit to a sense of pride. Whether it would be her or Emile leaving Reach, one of them **would** leave Reach – Kat was wounded and in cryo on the _Autumn_, Carter and Jorge were dead...

_I've lost enough._ Six inwardly seethed, _TORPEDO took my squad, Ackerson took my life and used it for his own selfish aims, Reach took Carter, Jorge, Jun, and nearly Kat too – it's going to take Emile... as much of Noble Team has to survive as possible, even if it's just one-third of the team!_

Spartan-B312, Noble Six, regained emotional control of herself just enough to shoulder her DMR next to the shotgun on her upper back before reaching for the AI storage device Dr. Halsey had given her. At the same time, Keyes' Pelican had landed, letting the Captain exit with a squad of marines watching the area around him.

"Good to see you, Spartan," Keyes smiled stiffly, "Catherine assured me I could count on you."

"Not just me, sir," Six replied while handing the AI storage device to the Captain. Keyes smiled sombrely, grasping the device as he placed a hand on Six's armoured shoulder.

"They'll be remembered; you have my word." he replied, before turning back to the Pelican... and freezing in shock before reaching to his com-link.

"Cruiser, adjusting heading for the _Autumn_! Noble Four, I need fire on that cruiser or we're not getting out of here! Do you copy!"

"_You'll have the window you need, sir."_ Emile replied.

As Keyes and the marines returned to their Pelican, two Phantoms entered the area. Managing to blast one, Emile couldn't stop the second from opening fire on the escorting Pelican. The damaged dropship lost control, falling towards Keyes' Pelican – though miraculously the pilot managed to swerve out of the way in time to prevent a crash. Six, meanwhile, dove away from the edge of the pad as the damaged Pelican flipped – slamming into that same edge she had just avoided, before falling to the depths of the canyon below. Emile managed to blast the second Phantom as Keyes' pilot swerved out of the way again, returning to the edge of the pad.

"Get on, Lieutenant!" one of the Marines roared, bringing the femme fatale back to her senses as she stood up, "We have to get out of here!"

"_Go, Six – I've got your back!" _Emile barked over the COM; the broadcast was heard by the squad that was guarding Keyes, as well as the Captain himself.

"But-!"

"_Don't worry about me – there's still plenty of Covenant here to send straight to hell," _Emile audibly smirked as the sound of his shotgun booming resounded through the COM, _"Who knows – I might survive and meet up with Jun, but in any case I have you covered. As for you, GO! And make sure Noble Team is never forgotten, by the Covenant or anyone else!"_

"Always," Six promised before climbing aboard with Keyes and his marines, "Good luck, Emile."

"_And to you – but we don't need luck," _Emile laughed, _"Spartans never die, after all."_

"Spartans never die," Six echoed, nodding her head in agreement as the Pelican headed back to the _Autumn_. Standing on the open hatch, she watched as Emile blasted an Elite Zealot to death, stabbed a second with his kukri, and then kicked a Grunt that had been gutsy enough to follow, crushing its head. The SPARTAN-III assault specialist then returned to the Driver's controls, aiming the mini-MAC Cannon at the core of the inbound warship.

"_Here's to Noble Team... and to you, Six."_ Emile intoned as the cannon fired. There was a thundering explosion as the blast hit the ventral cannon of the Corvette-class Covenant vessel. Explosions tore over the craft as its engines failed and it descended into the canyon, no longer a threat to the docked Halcyon-class cruiser.

"Good guns, Spartan." Keyes grinned, "All stations brace for cast-off."

"_Six, it's Emile – whether we meet again or not, I'll see you, Kat, and 117 in Hell when y'all arrive." _Emile vowed as the _Autumn's_ engines started firing, _"Send some Covenant there for me."_

"Of course – good hunting, Emile; and thanks for... everything," Six replied, outwardly calm yet inwardly biting back the urge to hit something as she moved into the Pelican proper and slumped into a seat, "Six out."

Seconds later, the Pelican docked – and the _Autumn_ launched with Noble Six aboard and Emile watching from the wreckage of Aszod's ship-breaking yards.

"_This is the Pillar of Autumn," _Keyes spoke moments after the Autumn broke Reach's atmosphere, _"We're away – and the Package is with us."_

Noble Six slumped against the side of the Pelican's hold as the _Autumn_ sped through the upper atmosphere, heading away from the Covenant forces in orbit as the slipspace drives charged... and suddenly she wasn't Noble Six anymore. Carter and Jorge were dead; Kat was recuperating from the Needle Rifle shot she'd taken back in New Alexandria. Jun might've still been alive; however, there was no way to know for certain. And Emile... well, they both knew he wasn't getting off Reach without some serious luck.

Melissa B-312 was the Lone Wolf once again, after the second time in her life where she'd found a group she could actually work with. Letting a pouch on the underside of the battered TACPAD on her forearm slide open, two sets of dog tags fell into her left hand – Jorge's and Emile's, and hung from their chains. Just as Jorge had done before his last act of courage, Emile himself had given Melissa his own tags before their final stand at the shipyards; the memory caused the Spartan to shake her head and clasp the tags in her fingers.

She'd never been much of a team player, especially since Harvest's glassing had separated her from her friends at five years old. Of the five childhood friends she'd had on Harvest and the family friend on Luna that she'd kept in contact with, two of their families refused to leave (and thus were killed by the Covenant) while a third had been caught in the glassing with his father – both of them having just missed the last refugee container off Harvest. The others had managed to escape separate from her. She'd never heard from her family's friend on Luna again, and only found out the other information after running from the orphanage she'd been dumped at on Reach, joining the SPARTAN-III Program and successfully hacking a series of sealed databases in private years later.

Since the information she'd found had contained the fact her two surviving friends were living happily on Earth, it had broken her. Melissa-B312 went from a fiery eleven-year-old girl to a cold loner who wouldn't shed a tear for anything, and with few exceptions had stayed that way for the rest of her life until the present.

She had no way of knowing, at 11 or in the present, that Colonel Ackerson had forged the bulk of that information just for that purpose – to turn even one SPARTAN-III from the innocent child that (even under all the pain and rage) they had been, into what Catherine Halsey called "Hyper-Lethal Vector." Melissa also couldn't have known that her surviving friends were part of the UNSC Marines, and on the _Autumn_ at that moment.

As her training had finished five years later, B-312 had been pulled out of Beta Company; at the time she'd thought she was being rewarded for her excellent solo performance. How wrong she was, despite TORPEDO's result in 2545; for instead of possibly getting to join her legendary predecessors the SPARTAN-IIs in combat, she spent nearly eight years as a lone wolf assassin for Ackerson and others within ONI including her direct superior. The bitterness Melissa had to deal with on her own ended up leaving her even more cold and ruthless on the surface, as she learned that – within ONI, anyway – no one she worked with could be trusted. When she found out her entire former Company had been wiped out during Operation: TORPEDO, she didn't visibly react at all, even as the humanity in her screamed in rage. That same humanity was then buried by her own hand, as one high-ranking ONI officer after another used her for black ops and assassinations.

How ironic that a month on Reach would undo a great deal of that self-forged programming, thanks to a team of Spartans who proved over those thirty-some days just how worthy they were of their destiny; from Visegrad to Sword Base, to battling alongside Kat and Jun over three days in Viery Territory, followed by Jorge's sacrifice during Operation: UPPERCUT and Carter and Emile's sacrifices during the Package delivery, Noble Team had proved their mettle several times over. But more than that, they allowed Melissa to work with them – after the initial distrust during the Visegrad Relay op, the team of five had slowly welcomed her into their number with open arms, Kat even recalling early days of Beta Company training with Melissa now and then. And the rest was history... just dust and echoes. At the same time it occurred to Melissa that she, Kat and a handful of others might be the only Spartans of any generation left. Surprisingly, that combination of facts nearly drove her to tears for the first time in nearly thirty years.

"Foehammer," Keyes smiled as he spoke to the Pelican's pilot, "Thanks for the ride."

"_Anytime, Captain Keyes – my pleasure,"_ the female pilot replied.

Melissa removed her helmet, revealing a mane of wavy red-blonde hair, her blue eyes glancing in Keyes' direction as she focused on the memory of her family friend and tuned out the Marines leaving the Pelican; specifically, her mind compared Keyes of the present to a photo she'd kept of an "Uncle Jake" from her childhood... admittedly, the photo was 27 years outdated, but it looked like a younger version of Captain Keyes.

Didn't her father's friend have his hand shattered once? And hadn't Captain Keyes' record shown the _exact same damage_ inflicted to him 27 years ago...?

"Noble Six, are you alright?" Keyes asked, placing a hand on the Spartan's armoured shoulder, "I'm no expert on body language, but you seem distressed."

"Just thinking, sir – though I do have a question for you." Melissa replied.

"Ask away, Lieutenant," Keyes smiled faintly, "My crew is trustworthy; I hand-picked the bulk of them myself. Assuming they even listen, they won't spill your secrets."

"You lived on Luna once, correct?" the Spartan-III asked.

"Yes; it was my home, especially during my teaching stint at Luna OCS – my daughter signed onto the school ten years to the day after the Harvest Campaign's end," Keyes replied, "Why?"

Melissa opened the hard-case attached to her left leg, carefully pulling out a well-worn photograph and examining it before speaking quietly, "Years ago, you sent one Lieutenant Chris Murphy a photo of yourself to give to his adopted daughter, who you considered an unofficial niece. It's been a long time coming, but I do remember one thing – my father wanted me to give this back to you. I've kept it all these years – not even my superiors know for certain that I have it."

"Chris Murphy..." Keyes smiled grimly, grasping the photo with the calloused fingers of his right hand, "I remember. He was a great soldier and a better friend... but all the reports I could find said his daughter died with him on Harvest."

"Ackerson," Melissa growled, surprising Keyes, "He hunted down hundreds of orphans from glassed colonies; turned them all into Spartan-IIIs for use in heavily classified suicide missions. My father died to save my life nearly 30 years ago, and Colonel James Ackerson tore it to shreds anyway. With everything that's happened, Kat and I are probably the only Spartan-IIIs left. I wish I could say more, but I'm breaking several regulations as is."

"Understood," Keyes nodded, "We'll talk more on that subject later on. Melissa?"

Noble Team's final member looked up – and held back any visible shock as Captain Keyes smiled at her before handing the photograph back.

"It's good to have you back; Miranda's going to be happy. Keep the photo, as a memory of better times; I think Chris would want you to have it more than me."

"Miranda Keyes is your daughter, sir?" Melissa's lips twitched as she replaced her photo in its case and her helmet on her head before following Keyes out of the Pelican, "I've heard of her through the grapevine – nothing but good things, under all the nepotism accusations that I just can't buy into."

"Miranda is my daughter, Lieutenant, and an incredible soldier – it's people like her that'll win this war for us." Keyes replied, "She'll probably trump all my meagre accomplishments."

"Of course, Captain," Melissa responded diplomatically even as her thoughts screamed '_Bullshit!'_, "Sir, Permission to contact my C.O., Colonel Holland – I would like to inform him of Noble Team's current status."

"Permission denied, Spartan; no point," Keyes replied, "Your comrade B320 already tried – while your C.O. knows of your team's general status, there's too much interference to contact him again. We barely got other Spartans out of Reach Station Gamma and into cryo before reaching Aszod."

"Understood," B312 replied with a sigh, "Is Spartan-B320 really up and about?"

"She's on the bridge, actually – she insisted, despite the headache." Keyes replied, "She'll be there when we bring the Package online."

Melissa nodded in understanding; if Kat was anything besides a code breaker, she was stubborn.

_If a Scarab couldn't keep her down, what would a sniper do? At least with her shields up, of course..._ Melissa bit back a grimace; the possibility of what would've happened had she not reminded Kat about her shields back in New Alexandria was enough to make her blood simmer. Thankfully, the anger was overwhelmed by an almost palpable surge of happiness as Melissa saw her only surviving teammate on the bridge, looking at a view-screen showing the view behind the Autumn – specifically, Reach.

"We fought so hard," Kat murmured as she saw Noble Six out of the corner of her eye, "And all for nothing."

"No – we fought for Reach, Kat. For humanity," Melissa replied, "And we won, in a way. As much of Reach's population survived as we could rescue – and so did some of the Army."

"But our team is gone!" Kat hissed, "You and I are Noble Team's only survivors!"

"I know," Melissa's jaw went taut under her helmet, "Which is why we keep fighting. I promised Emile that Noble Team would never be forgotten – Keyes gave me his word he'd make sure of that too. But unless you want what's left of that team to be remembered as a pair of cowards, we keep going – got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kat smirked audibly. Melissa blushed under her helmet as the realization came to her that she was basically channelling Carter – and to her former Commander's XO/best friend, no less.

"Sorry," the red-clad Spartan muttered.

"Don't be; I needed that," Kat sighed, "Lieutenant, you look like hell – did you even get some rest after I was knocked out?"

"All of a day's worth at that bunker, Kat; same as you," Melissa retorted, "Of course, getting here with the Package was no picnic."

"I know – Dot kept track of all of you as long as she could, before..." Kat trailed off, looking towards the front of the Autumn, "I hope that Package was worth it."

"Believe me," a familiar voice spoke, "It was."

Looking around for the source of the voice, Six's eyes settled on a holo-tank – on which stood an AI avatar; a short-haired blue-purple woman with lines of data scrolling over her body, otherwise bearing an odd resemblance to Dr. Halsey in looks and voice.

"You're that AI that Halsey had at the underground complex," Melissa realized, "The one who chose me."

"I am," the AI replied, "My name is Cortana – and I was hoping to thank you for getting my upgrade to the _Autumn_ in time; it might lead us to a way to win this war."

"It was a team effort, ma'am," Melissa replied.

"And you and your team have my thanks for what you've done, Spartan-B312." Cortana responded. Even as the FTL drives activated, the two Spartan IIIs didn't flinch; Melissa barely started at the fact Cortana already knew her codename.

"You've read my file." The Spartan deduced.

"I have," Cortana bowed her head, "All of it."

Melissa shrugged; considering what was _on _her true file to begin with, it wasn't surprising that so much "black ink" existed on the official one, or that Cortana had read beyond the ink. What the Smart AI said next – through Melissa's internal com-link, no less – made her pause, however.

"I've also traced your history, Melissa J. Murphy – I know what Ackerson's done to you and your friends; he will pay for all of it." Cortana vowed, "You're not the only ones he's attacked – or hurt."

"Understood... thank you, Cortana," the Spartan-III nodded, inwardly off-balance – she expected Cortana to have read her true file, but to have traced her history...

Clearly the AI had chosen her for something more than a simple package delivery. And something in B312's soul – a soul long thought nonexistent even to her – stirred with such an idea. The part of Melissa that was still a young orphaned child of Harvest smiled, and the Spartan smiled with her.

"Orders, sir?" Melissa asked, turning towards Captain Keyes.

"Get some rest – both of you," Keyes replied, "You've got pods reserved for you in Cryo 2. When we leave Slipspace, we'll likely need all hands on deck."

"Understood," Kat nodded, "Come on, Six; let's get to Cryo."


	2. First Meeting, FeetFirst Flight, Fired

_**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 for all relevant disclaimers; again, I own nothing in spite of elements of other authors' works being found here. **_

A/N: I admit, I'm surprised – four reviews and hundreds of hits in the first 24 hours alone; 500 hits in the first 48, and over 700 in the first week. Current stats show nearly 800 now. Thanks to everyone who's read this so far and special thanks to the reviewers and bookmarkers. I've sent replies to the reviewers if possible, and made subtle fixes to the first chapter. With that said, we now start on the meat of the story – where the Spartan IIIs' presence makes things very... _interesting._ Especially for a certain ODST contingent – Glory Hound Silva won't be in command (or around) for long with Kat and Six in the picture, and there'll be other surprises as well.

Note that (assuming you're using my armor specs as an image of this fic's Six) there will be a slight armor alteration this chapter; the specs in Chapter 1 have been altered to reflect this. Also, there will definitely be liberties taken with the time-stamps in this fic as well as the actions of personnel ranked (naval) Captain and above; my apologies to any military personnel who read this fic; like with the Akatsuki Leader13 issue, I am not trying to step on any toes – only write a story.

A virtual cookie goes to whoever finds the subtle tributes to some of my favourite actors; specifically, some of their roles.

* * *

_Halo Reach: Noble Legacy_

_Chapter 2: First Meeting, Feet-First Flight, Fired_

"_Come on now – we've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other!" – SGT MAJ Johnson_

"_Were it so easy." – Thel Vadam, "Halo 3"_

"_Troopers, we are green – and very, __**very**__ mean!" – Gunnery Sergeant Buck, "Halo 3 ODST"

* * *

_

_(Pillar of Autumn, September 19__th__ 2552, 100 A.M.) _

It had turned out that the cryo units on the _Autumn_ were in one of two states – occupied by essential personnel on the Autumn (including two Spartan IIs, Six had noticed; one being rather badly wounded), or damaged to the point of uselessness by the recent battles the _Autumn_ had been in. Therefore, after informing Captain Keyes of the situation the Spartan-IIIs were given (ironically) rather Spartan crew quarters for the time being, though they had to sleep on the Titanium-A-reinforced floor for the first night in lieu of keeping the beds on their frames – and as an apology from a handful of the crew, their armor systems had been repaired and upgraded (using MJOLNIR maintenance equipment stored on the _Autumn _for its original mission) over the two weeks the battle-weary warriors had spent catching up on sleep. Some of the apologetic crew members had families and friends who Melissa had helped rescue during her time in New Alexandria; as thanks the affected crewmembers had given her armor (and Kat's, by Melissa's demand) full diagnostics; all necessary _basic_ repairs had been made to the best of the abilities of the crew involved, and they'd also given Melissa's helmet a black visor and a CBRN/HUL upgrade using more armor equipment they had managed to bring to the _Autumn_ from Reach. Her extra helmet armor and the CNM, all of which had been melted to slag from B312's unofficial space-drop during Operation: UPPERCUT, were both removed in the process; the torso armor, in equally lousy shape, had been replaced with another fresh set of torso/chest armor called HP/Halo. Only noticed just before she suited up was that the knees of the armor had been replaced as well; the FJ/PARA lightweight knee armor had been replaced with stronger, sturdier Grenadier armor.

When asked why the upgrade was given, one of the crewmen involved explained that the new armor systems would help Melissa's MJOLNIR armor with its already considerable protective ability from chemical, biological, radiological and even nuclear threats.

"You never know what you'll encounter next, Spartan. Besides, you saved me, my friend Wes and his family back in New Alexandria; that let Wes and I get here to help out and muster up the other naval personnel, so I owe you big time." the naval officer in question, a haggard, buzz-cut man whose IFF identified him as 'Sergeant E. Myers', had said. Melissa had smiled at the constant vigilance of even the rank-and-file of the _Autumn_'s crew, and thanked the (obviously tired) tech-savvy Marine. That had been less than 24 hours ago; she hadn't seen Sergeant Myers since then.

Thankfully the only true repairs needed beyond the systems themselves were new paint jobs and some detail work; Kat's own helmet had been damaged by the Needle Rifle round that had nearly killed her, and Melissa's TACPAD had needed to be cleaned off, but the rest of their armour systems were fine and (even accounting for battle damage) would likely hold until they reached Earth. Melissa smiled as she finished suiting up at best possible speed and efficiency; physically, she felt as refreshed as the day she'd first met Noble Team – emotionally, she felt as elated as when she'd seen her remaining teammates at the former ONI HQ in New Alexandria. All in all, Melissa-B312 felt like a new Spartan as she checked her new grenade belt, which the Sergeant had converted into a utility belt of sorts. Four fragmentation grenades were in the belt, while the other four slots held all manner of gear from a Spoofer to protein bars to extra ammo for the Spartan's weapons.

Melissa-B312 picked up her helmet, still styled – right down to the VISR system – after the ODSTs' own helmet under all the upgrades, and looked at the visor, which – while black as the abyss of space, instead of the pale silver she remembered – looked as pristine as the day she joined Noble Team.

_I've gotta be one of the only Spartans who the ODSTs don't hate... well, at least the ODSTs Noble Team and I met before. That squad – the Bullfrogs – was actually quite nice to me; I hope the ones left after that op made it off Reach in one piece._ The redhead mused, her lips quirking in a small smile. _I guess the next few weeks are going to determine if the Autumn's contingent are the same as them, or any of the others._

"It's been a long time since I've seen that," Kat chuckled as she entered Melissa's quarters, suited up with her helmet under her bionic arm.

"Seen what?" Melissa asked absently.

"A certain nonexistent smile on a nonexistent Spartan, both dismissed by the bastard Ackerson as 'expendable'," Kat snarked, "And who most certainly proved her mettle on Reach several times over."

"Now there's the Kat I dared to call sister back in the day," Melissa chuckled before putting her helmet on; her smirk turned into a broad smile as the pressure seal activated and all systems (upgrades included) came online, registering green across the board, "Let's head to the bridge – we'll be dropping into real space soon, so I've heard."

"And you accused _me_ of soaking up information, Miss Hyper-Lethal Vector." Kat joked with a smile, putting on her own helmet as the pair of Spartans exited their quarters. The duo of former Noble Team members were lucky all their valuables – Melissa's photo of Keyes, Kat's code-breaking gear, and their respective weapons and ammo – were on them, stored in various pockets on their armor; for in a matter of hours they would never see the Autumn again... until the day it would be destroyed.

* * *

30 minutes later, the Master Chief was moving through the _Autumn_ to get to the bridge; he'd ducked under a half-opened door just in time to see a rather surprising sight – instead of the naval crewman in front of him taking an energy bolt through the chest, a Spartan clad in a dark red variant of (mostly) ODST-style MJOLNIR Armor stepped in front of the blast, took it head-on as the crewman ran for cover, and returned fire with the counter-boarders and another Spartan in a newer style, blue MJOLNIR Armor with extra chest plating identical to the ODST-lookalike's. The Covenant forces the group were defending against were sent reeling into an adjoining compartment as the two Spartans reloaded their assault rifles – the Chief noted absently that the ODST-lookalike Spartan used an MA37 Assault Rifle instead of the MA5B the _Autumn_'s Marines used.

"All of you hold the line, get to a lifeboat when you can; the Commander and I have to get to the bridge!" the red-clad Spartan ordered; the Master Chief inwardly started at the fact the voice coming from under that helmet was _female_. While he'd worked with female Spartans before, he didn't recognize this one.

"Repel all boarders as best you can!" the blue-armoured Spartan added; the Spartan-II couldn't recognize this one's voice either, though the silver visor stood out, and her Israeli accent and bionic arm were both noticeable. Suddenly, the red Spartan turned towards him; the Chief noticed that not only was her armor of a different design than his with extra torso plating, it also had a different color of visor (black in her case), a few extra pockets around the torso plating, a hard-case strapped to the left leg and a TACPAD on the left wrist.

"Going somewhere, Spartan?" the ODST lookalike asked calmly, watching for enemies all the while.

"The bridge, ma'am," Master Chief replied.

"Us too," the blue-clad Spartan responded in turn, "But we got a _little _sidetracked by those damn Covenant. Care to lead the way?" she handed the Chief her assault rifle.

"Watch my back," the Chief nodded, taking the weapon and leading the way as his newfound ally withdrew an M6G. Well aware of the fact Captain Keyes needed him on the bridge – and likely the other Spartans as well, given they were going there as well – the Chief made every effort to avoid firefights between the trio and the Covenant en route. He nearly succeeded; making his way down a darkened access corridor, however, resulted in an encounter with a Covenant Elite.

Preparing to charge at it as its shields flared, the Chief suddenly ducked as he saw the ODST-lookalike Spartan raise her assault rifle – allowing the trio of Spartans and a Marine fire-team to the Elite's left to tear into the alien. Nodding in thanks to the fire-team's squad leader (the other Spartans, surprisingly, gave verbal thanks instead) the three Spartans sprinted off to the bridge, making it without further incident... even as they noted that the boarding action was getting ever closer to the _Autumn_'s bridge.

The trio then found Captain Keyes – and moments later, in spite of massive curiosity regarding the ring-like object orbiting the planet ahead, the Chief could've sworn his comrades had smiles on their faces. Hiding his own surprise at the higher ranks of his Spartan allies, he refocused.

"Sleep well?" Cortana asked the three Spartans.

"No thanks to your driving, yes." Chief replied wryly.

"What he said," Melissa added, "You certainly navigate Slipspace well, Cortana."

"And your armour's constant state of flux is getting annoying, Lieutenant." Cortana retorted wryly.

"Better than being dead, I'd say," Kat cut in, "Four kills... you pack a punch on the cannons, ma'am?"

"Of course," Cortana grinned, flattered at the compliment, before turning to the Chief with a soft smile, "So you did miss me."

"We all did." Melissa replied.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ship, causing Keyes to grab onto a console for support; even as a sizeable chunk of the bridge crew was sent reeling, the Spartans braced themselves but didn't fall. The resulting report of the explosion's cause, as well as the MAC Cannon's destruction, left the Spartans disheartened. Keyes and Cortana's small argument regarding Keyes' plan brought the Spartans back to the present in time to receive Keyes' orders.

"Get Cortana off this ship," Keyes ordered the Master Chief, "Lieutenant, Commander, back him up when you can; I know you'll both likely be busy helping the crew get off the ship, and you might get separated from the Chief en route, but for the most part – whatever the Covenant does to try and capture Cortana afterwards, at least one of you will be there to stop it."

The two Spartan-IIIs nodded.

"Keep her safe from the enemy," Keyes continued, "If they capture her, they'll learn everything; force deployment, weapons research, colony locations... Earth."

"Understood," Master Chief replied; all three Spartans nodding as the orders sunk in. After Cortana's preparations and subsequent transfer to the Chief's armor, Keyes handed the Spartan-II his sidearm to go with the assault rifle he already had.

"Good luck, Spartans."

"And to you, sir," B312 replied, "Good luck to all of us. See you on the ring."

* * *

_(200 AM)_

The trio of Spartans crept down the corridors, Kat and Melissa watching for Covenant all the while. Thankfully, they hadn't encountered any yet.

_Good thing too,_ Melissa mused. _Because the Chief's glances at us are getting annoying._

"You have questions, I presume." Kat looked back at the Master Chief.

"I have several," the older Spartan replied.

"Ask away, then." Melissa shot back calmly. She and Kat had expected this; they'd had precisely one encounter with the Chief and his wounded comrade, and both the Spartan-IIs were already in cryo by then; furthermore, to the best of Master Chief's knowledge, the Spartan-IIs were the only Spartans in existence.

"You're Spartans – your use of MJOLNIR armor makes that abundantly clear," the Master Chief noted, "But I don't recognize your voices. Who exactly are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Melissa-B312; my friend here is Lieutenant Commander Kat-B320," Melissa replied, "Formerly Noble Six and Noble Two of Noble Team."

"That's all we can say regarding who we are and where we came from." Kat added.

"_The Lieutenant and her team were responsible for bringing an upgrade of mine to the Autumn." _Cortana added,_ "Spartan-B320 was recovering on this ship at the time; she took serious battle damage in New Alexandria."_

"Must have been a serious wound," Chief replied, looking at Kat, "You're okay now?"

"Had a bit of a headache before we left Reach," Kat replied, "But I'll live. Thankfully someone informed B312 here I was still alive, or she'd probably have died on Reach. As it is, we're the only ones from Noble Team left."

For a moment, Master Chief didn't say anything.

"You know," he noted, "Technically you two do outrank me."

"We do," Melissa chuckled, "But you're the more experienced soldier, so we will defer to you. Any other questions for us, Master Chief?"

"Your armor – both of yours," Chief noted, "They're MJOLNIR Armor, similar to Mark V – but obviously not the Mark V I know." Melissa shrugged as the Chief shot her a rather pointed look; truly, no other Spartan would dare to wear the Spartan-variant ODST armor so completely, "I'd like to know; what series is your armor; what are its full capabilities?"

"MJOLNIR Mark V (B) armor," Melissa replied, "Near-identical to your armor, but instead of the UNSC doing the construction with a cookie-cutter approach, private contractors construct the armor; each individual Spartan submits armor specifications to said private contractors from a catalogue, which differs for each Spartan based on their ranks and skills. Noble Team's late Commander, for instance, had Commando armor with all manner of communication support – none of the rest of us could have gone for that armor type because our respective ranks were too low."

"Interesting," the Chief noted, "Shield strength?"

"Just shy of Mark V's standards," Kat answered, "But it has a handful of experimental features your armor lacks."

Suddenly, the Spartan-II spun and threw a punch while Kat and Melissa threw a punch and a knife respectively into a small alcove. Two Spec-Ops Elites were sent reeling, their shields drained; one from the alcove and one from the Master Chief's strike with the MA5B Kat had given him. The formerly hidden Elite died from Melissa's knife skewering his skull, while the Chief's opponent died with a single headshot from the M6D Keyes had given him.

"You were saying?"

* * *

After rescuing two squads of Marines, the Spartans hit a little snag.

"Chief, Cortana? Kat – do you read?" Melissa asked, picking up her knife and shaking off the blood. After fighting a squad of Grunts, the three Spartans were separated as Elites grappled with the Chief and Melissa. The Master Chief managed to keep his grapple to near the airlocks, but Melissa...

Looking around, she found the area she was in was – aside from the path ahead – full of sealed emergency bulkheads. Thankfully, that meant the Elite she'd been lucky enough to grapple with likely hadn't gone far.

"_We're here,_" the Chief replied.

"_You okay, Lieutenant?" _Kat added.

"Took care of my wrestling match," Melissa replied, "Couldn't kill him – he ran off before I had a chance – but I did give him a few good injuries. Stabbed him in the eye."

"_Nice,"_ the smirk on Kat's face was audible.

"Can you get the bulkhead open?" the Lieutenant asked.

"_Not with the time we have, Lieutenant; this lock's much more complex than Visegrad Relay's, and we are on a time limit."_ Kat replied.

"New plan, then," Six replied, "Get your butts to a lifeboat before they leave."

"_What about you, Melissa; how will you get off the Autumn?"_ Kat asked.

"I'll find another lifeboat, or maybe the ODSTs – get off this ship with them. Hopefully their C.O. isn't a total jackass towards Spartans," Melissa replied, inwardly hoping (again) that any ODSTs she found were akin to the Bullfrogs in personality.

"_A rarity, last I checked." _Master Chief grunted.

"I know."

"_Lieutenant, I'm sure you've noticed that the bulkheads behind you have also sealed. However, there is an access door to the service corridors nearby. If you follow the corridors down, they should end near the Engine Room,"_ Cortana explained. _"It should only be a short walk to the hangars, or the SOEIV storage bays from there."_

"Understood; see you on the ring." Six nodded, before turning and sprinting off. The resulting journey was rather uneventful; Elites, given their considerable size, couldn't fit into the maintenance tunnels, and there were no Jackals in the boarding parties – which left the Grunts, who (without their leaders) were total cowards without their Elite commanders keeping them in line.

After going down six ladders and what seemed like miles of narrow corridors without seeing any resistance or crewmembers, the younger of the two Hyper-Lethal rated Spartans reached the tunnels' end, picking up some comm-chatter.

"_All right,"_ a male voice said. _"Listen up! Play time is over. Captain Keyes is tired of our company and wants us off this tub. There's a construct down there, complete with atmosphere, gravity, and the one thing that Marines love like beer; dirt__ beneath our feet!"_

Melissa didn't recognize the voice, but couldn't help smiling anyway – any survivors were good ones, especially this far into the _Autumn_. Assessing the situation, the Spartan-III deduced that the voice must have belonged to a squad leader, rallying his surviving soldiers to use the SOEIVs. The one-man pods may have been the primary tool of the ODSTs, but _all_ UNSC forces were trained in the use of the Human Entry Vehicle since plenty of instances existed where non-ODSTs needed to use the pods.

Melissa walked towards the Engine Room, ignoring the bullet holes, plasma burns and dead Covenant surrounding her...

"_Most of the crew, not to mention your fellow jarheads, will be leaving the ship in lifeboats. They'll ride to the surface in air-conditioned comfort, sipping wine and nibbling on appetizers."_

...and froze. It couldn't be... no way in hell was she _that_ lucky...

"_Not you, however; oh no. You're going to leave the Pillar of Autumn by a different method. Tell me boys and girls, how will _you_ leave?"_

Melissa shook her head wryly – already knowing the answer even as a chorus of voices replied.

"_WE GO FEET FIRST, SIR!"_

The voices of Helljumpers. Melissa grinned under her helmet; she'd be dropping with the ODSTs after all.

Her past encounters with the drop troopers left the former child of Harvest with respect or loathing for the ODSTs in general, depending on the type of ODST she was dealing with at a given time. ODSTs were all loud, arrogant and at least a little crazy, which Melissa couldn't help but respect; after all, if Ackerson and his ONI dogs couldn't entirely break the fire that had been within her since childhood, she had to be a little crazy herself – and much to the amusement of her comrades she definitely liked being loud when the opportunity (rare though it was) arose. The crazy, loud, and _competent_ type of ODST was someone Melissa-B312 got on with just fine.

It was the _other_ type of ODSTs that grated on her nerves, though; the glory hounds, the incompetents whose 'help' caused operations to go awry, the loudmouth soldiers who held Spartans and regular soldiers alike in low regard – if not outright hatred – were one of the few types of people who just pissed off the former assassin. Indeed, three of her ops in the year before joining Noble Team and regaining her humanity were bungled by the 'help' of this type of ODST battalion. Only her skill had prevented those ops from becoming failures.

It went without saying in her eyes that Melissa would (for the most part) reserve judgment on meeting with _this_ ODST battalion until the fighting resumed. The battlefield (and the path to it) would reveal the type of person each ODST was, and whether or not the Spartan-III would respect those people.

The doors at the corridor's end opened, dozens of ODSTs leaving the Engine Room through that door. Upon seeing the Spartan they stopped – a few glaring at her, some raising their eyebrows at the style of her armor, and a handful with looks of... recognition in their stances. One of the ODSTs who apparently recognized Melissa moved to step forward, before the group's C.O. beat them to it.

"Major Antonio Silva," the man said as he approached, "It's a surprise to see you here – but you're not the Master Chief, are you? Spartans never bother to dress in our uniform design, or wear the ODST helmet."

"Most don't, true," Melissa agreed, "I've only known one besides myself who even tried upgrading his armor at all. But I'm not most people, sir, and you're right; I'm not the Master Chief. Lieutenant Sierra-B312 at your service – and yes, before you ask, I am seeking a way off the ship."

The Major sized up the former ONI assassin for a moment before nodding his head. "Very well, Lieutenant; we're about to leave the ship as well. You're welcome to come with us, long as you don't mind slumming with ODSTs."

"I never have minded, sir," Melissa smiled under her helmet at the typical cockiness this ODST exuded, "And believe me – I've 'slummed' with ODSTs plenty of times."

"Really?" Silva asked as he and Melissa entered the drop pod launch bay, "That explains why my XO finds you familiar, I guess."

"Sir?"

"Details later, Lieutenant – let's get down to that construct!" Silva barked, moving to his pod. Melissa nodded, and took an empty pod near the front of the closest line – ignoring the complaints of the angry Corporal behind her.

The Lieutenant secured her weapons and then strapped herself in, waiting for the drop timer to reach zero. It did – just as the last of the pods were boarded and secured.

The tracks came online, pulling Melissa's pod into launch position; the clamps released the pod and its thrusters activated once said position was achieved, pushing the Spartan into her seat. Drop pods began falling from the _Autumn_'s belly, the ODST anthem blaring from their speakers, and as the pods flew towards the ring, the former Noble Six let out a cry of exhilaration – for her there was _nothing _in the universe quite like riding in a HEV.

The Spartan didn't know that smiles graced the faces of the same ODSTs who had glared at her earlier, as they heard her over the comm system. Shelving the exhilaration for the moment, though, Melissa looked at the construct.

Whatever it was, the Covenant clearly valued it – to the point they refused to bring their full power against the _Autumn_ for fear of hitting it, hence the boarding action. Melissa knew one thing, though – she, Kat, Master Chief and Cortana would find out the construct's purpose.

And maybe the game-changer Dr. Halsey had mentioned would be there too...

* * *

_(333 AM)_

Whether by design or by fortuitous coincidence, Melissa's HEV was third in line for landing – behind Major Silva's and his First Officer, Melissa McKay's – and had landed right next to McKay's own pod, relatively speaking; only a quarter-kilometre away from the First Lieutenant's.

_That's going to get confusing damn quick,_ B312 mused while stripping the drop pod of all essential gear – including her DMR, Shotgun and M6G sidearm – and hefting all but the weapons in a pack that had been left in the pod. _Two soldiers with the same first name and similar rank. Guess I'll have to use my code-number._

"Lieutenant McKay!" the Spartan barked as she lightly jogged towards the ODST's own pod.

"Spartan, you made it," the First Lieutenant smiled under her own helmet, "Come on – let's report in to Major Silva."

"He might not be too happy I actually survived the drop," the Spartan-III noted sardonically, "Most ODSTs I've known have it in for Spartans."

"I don't know; I think the fact you wear as close to our uniform as you've got impressed the Major somewhat," McKay replied, "The fact you complimented the ODSTs definitely helped your case, as did the fact you deferred to him."

"Why wouldn't I compliment the ODSTs, or defer to the Major?" Melissa-B312 retorted wryly, "He outranks me – and except for the incompetent glory hounds I've encountered masquerading as ODSTs, you Troopers have been nothing but helpful to me over the years. I would much rather be one of you, really; but since I can't, I just wear my variant of your armor – with a little of my own personal style."

"Doesn't red – dark or otherwise – kind of eliminate the stealth factor, though?" McKay asked in amusement, looking over the predominantly dark red armor with black visor and extra black around the stomach, chest and forearms.

"Usually it would, yes," the Spartan-III replied as she dusted off the armor around her chest, "But this armor is dark enough that at night none of the Covenant ever knows the difference. Even in the daylight, it has a few... quirky ways of eliminating that problem. All classified, though – sorry."

"Figured as much," McKay snarked, "You know, Spartan; I think we could be pretty good friends."

"I hope so, Lieutenant... I hope so." Melissa-B312 replied softly. The mention of friends made her mind recall all the other friends she'd met and lost over the years – and then an image of Captain Keyes flash in her mind's eye. Was Melissa's unofficial uncle still alive? She certainly hoped he was – because she had lost enough.

And as Major Silva appeared in her line of sight, the Spartan swore that – whether Keyes was alive or not – she would help the ODSTs make the Covenant bleed.

* * *

Kat, on the other hand, really _was_ making the Covenant bleed. While not as adept with a Sniper Rifle as Jun, the woman who would later be known as 'the true genius of Noble Team' was more than able to hold her own as she and the Master Chief sniped at the last wave of Covenant near the final life-pod they'd located. The Spartan duo were the only survivors from the life-pod they had left the _Autumn_ in, and after evading a Covenant patrol they'd spent their time looking for survivors. The latest group of surviving Marines and naval personnel helped hold off the Covenant, and Kat smiled as she saw a crewman nearby snipe at the final two Grunts in the area with his pistol – even the few surviving navy men she and Spartan-117 had found were pulling their weight as best they could, under the unofficial leadership of various Marines.

_When everyone regroups, it's going to be hell for the Covenant._ Kat realized as she passed her rifle back to the blonde Marine – one of the "leaders" of the resistance – who had loaned it to her. The Master Chief and Cortana, meanwhile, contacted Pelican Echo 419 for final evacuation from the area.

"Thanks, soldier."

"Not a problem, ma'am," the Marine replied, "You did much better with that gun than I ever could."

"If you think I'm good," Kat snarked as she and the Marine entered the Pelican with the Chief and the other survivors, "You should see my friend Jun – he can reach out and touch someone with a Sniper Rifle without them even knowing it."

"Sounds like one hell of a sniper, ma'am," the blonde man chuckled, "I'm sorry he's not here."

"So am I," Kat replied softly, "What's your name?"

"Corporal Wesley Collins, ma'am," the Marine answered, "My friends call me Wes."

"Wes?" Kat blinked under her helmet, "Do you know a Sergeant Eric Myers? My teammate, Spartan-B312 saw him while we were in slipspace; he pulled one hell of a repair on our armor, and mentioned you to her when he gave hers back."

"Eric's my brother, or as good as one," Wes chuckled, "I joined the Marines a little while after he did, or our ranks would be identical. Just luck we were stationed together on the _Autumn_, I guess."

"We make our own luck." The Master Chief grunted.

"He's right," Kat chuckled, "Blunt as hell, but right. If you and Sergeant Myers were both stationed on the _Autumn_ during all of this, it's for a good reason."

"I just hope we survive this," Wes smiled grimly, "All of us."

"I can't promise that," Kat replied softly, even as the Spartan in her wondered what the_ hell_ she was doing, "But I can promise you that B312 and I will both try our best to save as many as possible, including the both of you."

"We all will," the Master Chief added.

"Thanks, Spartans," the Corporal smiled faintly, "I know about you, Master Chief – really, find me someone who doesn't. But you..." Wes turned towards Kat, "I gave you my name; what's yours?"

"Kat," the Spartan-III removed her helmet and smiled at Wes, "Call me Kat."

"It's an honour to meet you, Kat," the Corporal smiled, extending a hand, "Let's all get through this mess in one piece, huh?"

As Kat shook Wes' hand, her smile widened – maybe Melissa wasn't the only one regaining her humanity. Because the odd surge that passed through her bionic arm had nothing to do with mechanical problems...

* * *

_(1430 HRS/2 PM)_

Melissa, meanwhile, was smiling for an entirely different reason – she, Lieutenant McKay and the First Lieutenant's company of ODSTs had just claimed a Covenant-infested butte which Silva had dubbed _Alpha Base_. Despite the former assassin's desire to go it alone and slag the entire Covenant army, she knew it wasn't possible at the time; despite feeling prime, the Fall of Reach had left her reeling, in a way. So the Spartan-III teamed up with the ODSTs and Marines, slowly destroying the Covenant forces occupying the butte and the surrounding area.

The Spartan-III smirked as she remembered a particularly hairy situation involving her Armor Lock ability, a Marine and a Plasma Grenade rainstorm; noting that the Marine in question would have been stuck, Melissa jumped in the soldier's path and activated Armor Lock for a brief moment – the explosion of energy resulting from the ability's deactivation sent the falling grenades headed for the Marine flying back towards the Covenant bastards that threw them, saving the soldier's life. (1)

Right now, though, Alpha Base belonged to the human survivors – and like the Master Chief, Melissa had taken advantage of the few amenities the Base had to offer. Eight-and-a-half hours of sleep – all the rest she needed, after sleeping two days' worth on the _Autumn_ – a small lunch of two MREs, and a two-minute hot shower later, the former Noble Six was clean and full again.

She had just dried off and found a fresh set of utilities, and was just finishing a diagnostic on her armor when a Private knocked softly on the plastic wall of her cubicle/quarters.

"Ma'am, sorry to bother you – but Major Silva would like to see you in the Command Post... on the double. The other Spartans are being called in as well."

"Be right there," Melissa replied, moving to put her helmet on.

"The Major also said to leave your armor here, ma'am." The Private added. Melissa sighed.

"I'm already wearing the armor, Private; it takes awhile to fully remove, and from what I know of Major Silva he's not a patient man. If he's got a problem with us Spartans being in uniform, he can take it up with us."

"Understood, ma'am," the Private replied meekly before scurrying away. Melissa scowled as she put her helmet on; it looked as though Silva's chance to lambast the Spartans had finally come. But the three Spartans had talked on this matter (and many others, in Kat and Melissa's case) after meeting up upon the code-breaker's return with the Chief – Major Silva was in for quite a surprise.

The two ODSTs guarding the Major's "office" eyed Melissa with a smile, only slightly different from the look the Master Chief had received earlier – thanks to talks between Melissa-B312 and the ODSTs.

"Lieutenant," the left ODST spoke up after taking a second to check Melissa's collar insignia, "What brings you here?"

"Lieutenant Sierra-B312, reporting to Major Silva," Melissa replied.

"Spartan-B312? I swear, all you freaks have the weirdest names," the smaller of the two guards muttered.

"Can it, soldier; we've been through this already!" McKay's voice barked from in the office as she opened the door and poked her head out, "C'mon in, Lieutenant – the Chief and your friend Spartan-B320 are already here. Never mind these two; they're jump-happy."

"Thanks, McKay," Melissa's lips twitched, she took three steps forward as McKay moved out of the way, and the ODST-lookalike found herself standing between Kat and the Chief in front of a makeshift desk. Major Silva sat behind it, on a chair salvaged from one of the life-pods – a chair which squeaked as he leaned back and tapped a stylus to his lips. He did _not_ say "at ease"; an inaction which deeply worried Melissa-B312 as well as Lieutenant McKay. However, the Spartan-III put that aside as Silva looked into her eyes. Ice-cold cobalt met fiery emerald green for a moment before Silva looked at Kat and then at the Chief; all three Spartans inwardly noted that Silva's eyes were hard as diamond, showing no emotion. Melissa herself had one thought flash through her mind before Silva verbally tore into all three Spartans.

_Was this what I was like before Noble? Because if it was... it's a damn good thing they never put me on a team before then. I've got a bad feeling about this._

"This is a bit less true in the case of B312 – but if I were to hazard a guess, you're all wondering who I am and what this is all about. Understandable, given your elite statuses, your close relationship with Captain Keyes and the fact that we know he's been captured by the Covenant," Silva began, "Loyalty is a fine thing; one of the military's many known virtues and a quality I admire."

The Major then stood, and paced back and forth behind his chair.

"However, there is a chain of command – which means you report to _me._ _Not _to Keyes, _not _to Cortana, and _especially not_ to yourselves." He then stopped and looked the Master Chief square in the eye again, this time all but ignoring Kat and Melissa – to the Major's detriment, as the Chief subconsciously noted the looks exchanged between Kat, Melissa-B312 and Lieutenant McKay.

"I thought," the Major added, "that it would be a good idea for you and I to pull a com check. So, here's the deal. I'm short a Captain, so Lieutenant McKay is serving as my Executive Officer. So, if either one of us says 'crap', then I expect you to ask 'what color, how much, and where do you want it?' Do you read me?"

Staring for a moment, the Chief clenched his jaw.

"Perfectly, sir," the Spartan-II replied. Melissa-B312 looked at Kat out of the corner of her eye,

"Good," the Major replied, "One more thing – I'm familiar with your record, Master Chief, and I admire it. You are one helluva soldier. That said, you and your comrades are also _freaks_; the last remaining subjects in a terribly flawed experiment that should _never_ be repeated."

Melissa-B312 glanced at Kat again – aside from a tightening of her jaw and a narrowing of her eyes, much like the Chief's own reaction, there was no response from the recently-promoted (and thus unknown) Commander. McKay noted the changes as well – and held fast as she noticed a subtle shake of the head from Kat.

"The whole notion of selecting people at birth, screwing with their minds and altering their bodies is wrong," Silva continued, "First, because the candidates have no choice. Second, because the program's subjects are transformed into human aliens, and third – because the Spartan program failed."

Both Spartan-IIIs' eyes narrowed to slits at that last statement. As Silva made a rather blunt reference to Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection and applied that Theory to the Spartan Program, and simultaneously slandered the Spartans while praising the ODST performance in seizing Alpha Base, Kat and Melissa's left hands – clasped behind their backs – clenched into fists.

"When we push the Covenant back – which I sincerely believe we will," the Major added, "That victory will be the result of work by men and women like Lieutenant McKay – human beings who are razor-sharp, tough as nails and green to the core. _Not_ the pansies masquerading as Marines, and not you freaks in fancy armor. Do you read me?"

There was a moment of silence, before the Chief moved to respond.

"He doesn't have to read you," Kat coldly interjected, "_Ensign_."

"Excuse me?" Silva gaped at the Spartan-III, "I don't care how badass a soldier you _think_ you are, Lieutenant Commander; you do _not_ outrank me – our ranks are _barely _equal; so call me by my proper rank or I'll throw you in the brig _myself_!"

"You do _not_ outrank me, _Ensign Silva_," Kat's voice at this point could have frozen the _Autumn_'s hull completely, it was that cold, "I was promoted to the naval rank of Captain, equal in rank to Keyes – to replace my lost commander and friend Carter-A259. That means _I _outrank _you_, and can _demote_ you as I see fit."

"Not for my beliefs!" Silva retorted, "_All_ ODSTs think as I do deep down!"

"No – not all of us!" McKay interjected heatedly, "_Some_ of us actually give a damn about _all_ of humanity! _Some _of us actually like these three Spartans! The rest of us respect the Spartans in general, at least – but you don't even do _that_!"

The Master Chief made a rather smart decision at that point; he kept his mouth shut and subtly handed Melissa-B312 Cortana's data-chip, which he'd removed before entering the office. His comrades – no, his _friends_ – were defending him. The feeling was – for a Spartan – indescribable.

"You tried to separate all three of us from our respective armours – you might as well have asked one of your ODSTs to parade around _in the nude_, Silva," Melissa coldly added, causing the soon-to-be-former Major to pale considerably, "And for your information, you're wrong about ODST beliefs – I met several squads of ODSTs on Reach who considered the Spartans their brothers-in-arms!"

"_Spartans destroyed the ODSTs!"_ Silva roared, "_27 years ago – on the Atlas! They murdered my men, and weak excuses for human beings let them get away with it!"_

"What does that have to do with the Captain and me?" Melissa-B312 retorted, "We're Spartan-_III_s – our class wasn't even around in 2525; not like we are now."

"_All_ weak humans _and_ Spartans will die eventually, and the ODST will reign supreme; it's the natural order of things. You should have _all _died at Reach; it's just about what you freaks deserve." Silva shot back coldly.

"In your opinion alone, _Ensign_." Kat hissed, "Master Chief!"

"Yes, ma'am?" the Chief replied.

"I'm resuming command; get this pathetic excuse for a soldier out of my sight – take him to whatever was set up as a brig and then come back here. Lieutenant McKay; fill me in while the Chief is away. Tell me what Silva's plans were for the foreseeable future." Kat ordered. McKay nodded.

"Aye, ma'am," the Spartan-II responded as well, before turning to the disgraced (former) Major, "Get up."

"You freaks will die – just you wait! _Humans_, the _best_ of them, will win the war, not you!" Silva hissed at the Spartans before the Chief shoved a battle dressing in his mouth and held it in with some all-purpose repair tape that Kat tossed him. The Spartan-II then – after asking one of the guards where the 'brig' was – led Silva away as Melissa inserted Cortana's chip into her neural interface.

"If Major Silva's recent actions are the human equivalent of rampancy," Cortana muttered through the external speakers of B312's TACPAD, "I want no part of it."

"That'll never happen to you, Cortana," Melissa smiled down at the wrist device, "Master Chief won't let it; neither will I or Kat."

"Besides which," McKay interjected, "Silva's a bigot. He made his dislike of certain sects of humanity abundantly clear – but since he only ever slandered Insurrectionists... I don't know; Command looked the other way, I guess." the ODST shrugged.

"I didn't even know he felt that way about Spartans, though; and I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"It's the worst single attack we've received yet," Kat replied wryly, "But nothing new in the grand scheme."

"We're used to it, McKay," Melissa added, "Don't worry about it. For now, let's just hear what Silva's plans were. Captain Keyes was captured by the Covenant?"

The Spartan-III felt a white-hot stab of rage as she asked that question – rage which she tempered with determination. She would get her last remaining non-Spartan family back, at any cost. Cortana, Kat and McKay agreed with her on the sentiment of getting Captain Keyes back to Alpha Base – as did the Chief when he returned to the office – and between the four of them and the AI Wellsley, a brainstorming session ensued.

After Wellsley's data-chip was installed in Kat's armor and connected to her neural interface, a plan began to take form from the two AIs and four soldiers... and the group smiled as the plan was refined. If all went well, Keyes would be back with them by the next morning.


	3. The Truth and Reconciliation

Disclaimer: Since a grave error on my part was pointed out, let me make the record clear one last time – I don't own the Halo franchise or _anything_ associated with it (that right belongs to Microsoft and Bungie) bar all the games, some novels, and this fic. Furthermore any similarities between this fic and any other Reach fic/Noble Six tributes out there are _**completely unintentional.**_

A/N: Thank you, Ghostreaper181 and Akatsuki Leader13 for pointing out the gaping flaw in the disclaimer, and also for the metaphorical kick in the pants.

To all who have kept track of this fic, sorry for the delay; between the _Truth and Reconciliation _level itself and real life, writing this chapter's been a long, slow ride these days. I appreciate your patience. This is the part where things start changing, and it's also the last chapter with Master Chief's direct involvement.

And the hits are now over two grand! All reviews have been replied to, all 'legal' issues resolved; let's see where this goes, hmm?

FYI: _"This"_ is COM chatter, _This_ is thoughts and ship names; **This** is emphasis.

* * *

_Halo Reach: Noble Legacy_

_Chapter 3: The Truth and Reconciliation_

_"__The enemy has captured__Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers; the __**Truth and Reconciliation**__.__" – Cortana, "Halo: Combat Evolved"_

_

* * *

_

_(September 19__th__ 2552, 8 PM [Mission Clock], Pelican Echo 419 in-flight)_

"Are you all right, Lieutenant?"

Melissa-312 blinked, shaking herself from her musings, and looked up at the Master Chief – knowing that a lesser human would have flinched at being surprised so easily.

"I wish I could say I was, Chief," the Spartan-III replied, thankful the conversation was going over the Spartans' TEAMCOM instead of the group's, "Keyes' capture by the Covenant hit everyone hard, once it was confirmed."

"We have a chance to get him back, though," the Chief retorted calmly, "Can I count on you to help me again?"

"You can always count on me to back you up, sir," Melissa replied, "You and Cortana are my friends, few though they are – and no matter what, I **never** abandon my friends."

"_That's great and all,"_ Cortana shot back wryly over the Spartans' TEAMCOM, _"And I for one am rather grateful – but what the big guy here means is are you okay to continue the mission? You helped us once, back on the _Autumn_, and hopefully you'll help us again; but we can't really turn back now, Sierra-312, and we don't have time to play psychiatrist."_

"I'll be fine, Cortana," the Spartan-III replied wryly, "Don't worry about me," her expression darkened behind her armor's black visor, though both Chief and Cortana noticed somehow as she continued.

"Worry about Keyes – and **especially** about the Covenant we meet en route to him."

"_Understood, Lieutenant,"_ Cortana nodded – or would have, had her avatar been active. The Smart AI's presence in Melissa's mind – however temporary it had been – had given her tremendous insight into the now-former Noble Six; she knew that if Melissa said she was okay, she meant it.

However, Melissa also held a great deal of anger towards the Covenant for their part in Noble Team's destruction; both she and Cortana knew that. And the _Truth and Reconciliation _had been present at Reach...

Cortana was curious; would the Lieutenant let her rage consume her better judgment? She filed the thought away for future analysis and began her situation report.

"Let's give them hell, Spartan," a gruff voice replied quietly from next to the Spartan-III, as Cortana gave her sit-rep.

"Sergeant Myers?" Melissa hissed as her attention locked onto her newest friend – who was clad in standard ODST Battle Armor, tailor-made for what Melissa suddenly noticed was one robust body for a regular human; seven feet tall, and 300 pounds of nothing but muscle. Even with his above-average height, as he and Melissa-B312 listened to Cortana's sit-rep with one ear each, Myers _still_ had to look up a little to lock visors with the Spartans, given that in-armor they were almost a foot taller than him.

"Don't look so shocked," the Sergeant replied wryly in a low undertone, "I **volunteered **for this – despite Parker already being here – once I heard you were part of the unit dropping in; I figured you could use a little extra personal backup, even if it _is_ second-best compared to a Spartan. Wes is doing something similar for your friend Kat; we both cleared this plan with her first."

"You two just didn't want to miss the action," Melissa teased, looking at the Marine and de-polarizing her visor completely to reveal a pair of eyes as blue as the purest ocean, shining with amusement, "And I guess they found an ODST battledress in your rather muscular size."

"I used mine, actually – found it stored in Echo 419 after we hit landfall, luckily enough – and Wes and I didn't want to leave our friends, Melissa," the Sergeant retorted calmly as he de-polarized his own visor and locked eyes with the Spartan-III, "Or Captain Keyes. The lot of you are too important, to the crew and to both of us." The Spartan-III didn't know just how her eyes affected Sergeant Myers – though she knew how much his own dark brown (nearly black) eyes affected her. Thankfully the others aboard the Pelican were listening to Cortana, and thus completely ignored the byplay between the Spartan-III and the Sergeant.

"Be prepared to back us up alongside Parker and the others, then," Melissa ordered, re-polarizing her visor to its standard dark black and checking that her sniper rifle, assault rifle and sidearm were in place, "The Chief and I will be taking point on this one."

"I understand, Lieutenant; good luck."

"Good luck to us all, Sergeant; stay sharp, ok?"

"Always, ma'am," the Sergeant nodded, re-polarizing his own visor after checking his own gear.

"Hit it Marines; go, go, go! The Corps ain't paying us by the hour!" Staff Sergeant Parker bellowed. The ODSTs' leader for this mission, Parker looked like a slightly younger version of Staff Sergeant Johnson – Melissa recalled that as she saw the Staff Sergeant at Alpha Base earlier in the afternoon, her mind flashed to one of her late childhood friends, a young boy named Dan – who would have likely looked like Parker had he lived until then.

The Spartan duo and ODST squadron exited the Pelican at best possible speed; the ODSTs moved to stand in a circle, facing outward as the Master Chief and B312 headed to a rudimentary sniper post up ahead, with Melissa engaging her armor's photo-reactive panels for additional concealment.

* * *

The group of soldiers had just finished taking out the first line of defenses between their LZ and the _Truth and Reconciliation_'s gravity lift. As Myers took point among the ODSTs and the Chief took point among the entire group, the troops were moving up the slope when-

"_Stop," _Cortana ordered; the group froze at that command, _"Motion tracker shows movement around the next bend."_

"We'll advance on your orders, ma'am," Sergeant Myers replied calmly and quietly, "You concur, Parker?"

"I do – good luck, Spartans," Parker added, "We'll be here when you need us."

"Give us a minute to clear the path ahead," Melissa-B312 grinned after pulling a fiber-optic cable back, disconnecting and replacing the gear in her belt before taking hold of her Sniper Rifle, "It's Jackals and a Shade guarding a fork in the road; Chief and I will wreck them and each take one side of the fork."

"Back up the Lieutenant once we pick our locations," the Chief added, "Her base shield strength is weaker than mine; I'll be fine."

"We'll advance when you're in position, then." Myers replied, as the Spartans began their ascent. The Jackals fell like flies to a zapper; as a pair of grenades from the Spartans sent the turret flying back out of sight, Cortana's voice calmly resonated through the ODSTs' COMs.

"_Fire Team Charlie, the Chief has secured the middle. Recommend you move to the left – you and the Lieutenant should be able to flank the enemy."_

"Copy that; we're on our way," Myers replied.

"Charlie Team, move up!" Parker barked, already moving to back up the Spartan-III alongside the lower-ranked Sergeant Myers. Both men only subconsciously noted that their squad were all moving at the same pace as them – and then chaos ensued.

Despite all his training and self-control, Sergeant Myers couldn't have recalled the entirety of the battle if he'd been paid all the money in the universe, things were that chaotic; however, he did recall that while a couple low-ranking ODSTs were killed in the ensuing melee, the Sergeant himself, Parker and most of the Staff Sergeant's squad survived the insanity – and all of them helped to slag at least three Shade turrets, two Elites of differing ranks and a Hunter pair (among many, _many_ other Covenant foes) all while Myers himself was side-by-side or back-to-back with the former Noble Six. After stopping a moment to pay their respects, Parker and Myers took the dog tags and ammo from their fallen comrades and proceeded onward.

"_We're directly under the ship now," _the group heard Cortana say over the COM, _"Area secure."_

"For the moment, anyway," Myers retorted calmly, "Marines, secure the gravity lift and prepare for boarding!"

"Yes, sir!" the other Troopers replied as Cortana called for Marine reinforcements for the coming battle.

"What's the matter?" Parker spat at his troops as they moved; several of them were looking longingly at the incoming Pelican, which contained the reinforcements that Cortana had called, "Never seen a UNSC dropship before? Damn it people, eyes on the rocks and the lift! **That's **where the enemy will come from!"

A freshly rested group of Marines exited the Pelican, and combined with some of the ODSTs to form the human force that would storm the _Truth and Reconciliation._

"Going up?" Melissa smirked under her helmet minutes later, as the soldiers were suddenly pulled up by the ship's gravity lift.

"Ha, ha," Sergeant Myers deadpanned. As a hatch opened above them, the group as a whole came to a mild epiphany.

The easy part was done; now the tough part was about to begin. Captain Keyes was in that ship, and they were going to get him back. As the group landed on the now-closed hatch (having fallen from three feet above the deck) Melissa-B312 shared a look with Sergeant Myers.

"You feel that, Eric?"

"That mix of excitement and fear?" Eric replied softly, continuing with an amused tone to his voice at the Spartan's affirmative nod, "I do indeed, Spartan. Good thing, in a way – I only ever feel this during a **really** good battle."

The Sergeant refused to admit verbally to the fact that a part of the excitement came from fighting alongside Melissa-312.

"_It's a shame there aren't any Covenant here to share in your enthusiasm, Sergeant Myers." _Cortana interjected wryly as the group spread through the cargo bay to scan for hostiles.

* * *

_(Alpha Base, 9 PM [Mission Clock])_

Kat, meanwhile, had (after a brief meeting between all the non-jailed survivors at Alpha Base to discuss the transition of leadership) called on the help of her aide, Corporal Collins – as well as heading to the brig to consult the former Major Silva, much to her and Collins' shared disgust – and come up with a plan. While the _Truth and Reconciliation _was being assaulted by the Master Chief, Lieutenant-312, Sergeant Myers, Johnson and his Marines, Lieutenant McKay would take her own squad of Marines and attack the crash site of the _Pillar of Autumn_, to regain as much as they could in the way of food, ammo, fuel and supplies. However, that wasn't the only means of resupply that Kat had used.

In the wake of the assault on the CCS-Class Covenant vessel, Second Lieutenant Dalu was bringing back to Alpha Base everything he could scoop up and then some via Pelican _Echo 419_. Plasma pistols and rifles, Needlers, power packs, hand tools, COM equipment, food packs, even the odd Needle Rifle (much to Kat's surprise) – _Echo 419_ had brought back all that and more, including three Shade turrets; the latest of which Dalu and some Navy techs were taking delivery of right at that moment. Kat smiled; while she wouldn't have minded the possibility of the group escaping the ring world with most of this Covenant technology, for now it'd do as a supplementary defense in their efforts to survive.

"Ten-shun!" Sergeant Lister shouted, doing a smart about-face and saluting Lieutenant McKay, who returned the salute and replied with the obligatory "at ease."

Walking out into the rain, which she and Wes barely felt due to their respective armors and helmets, Kat smiled as she depolarized her visor and scanned the ranks. All she saw was Marines – soldiers of all colors.

"You know the mission – get to the _Autumn_'s crash site_._ But it's not to make her fly again," Kat replied, "No, the _Pillar of Autumn_ is all but dead; she'll never fly again, so we'll get off this ring another way. But we need to **outlast **the Covenant to do that; what you're all going to do will help us get to that point, finish the fight, and get the hell out of here!"

There was a roar of approval from the crowd, though in Kat's opinion it sounded weak.

"Focus, people; there's no time for pessimism, damn it!" Collins interjected hotly, clearly noticing the same weakness, "We **will** get off this ring – count on it! But we're in a battle of attrition with the Covenant in the area; we've got to win that fight to get out of here, and this effort from all of you is going to help us do that!"

"The Corporal's right," Lieutenant McKay added as some of the run-of-the-mill Marines in the group started muttering disparaging comments, "We've only just _begun_ to fight; or are you all planning on lying down like beaten dogs and **surrendering**? **ARE YOU!**"

"**Sir, no sir!**" the soldiers chorused.

"You're damn right you won't," Kat replied calmly, "Because the Covenant doesn't take any prisoners. Fight hard, bring back all the salvage you can, and good luck – Corporal Collins and I will see you all in a couple days."

Except they both knew they wouldn't. As Carter had taught Kat through example over the years (and as Wes had learned through years beside Eric in the UNSCDF), good C.O.'s had to love the soldiers under their command – and still be able to order them into life-and-death situations. Frankly, that aspect of command pissed Kat off, in no small part because had things gone a little differently; had she forgotten to reactivate her shields in New Alexandria, for instance, or had Emile been skewered by the Zealot which Melissa had seen sneaking up on him, **all **of Noble Team would have been destroyed for certain by that aspect.

_How you lead the various incarnations of Noble Team, old friend, I'll never know._ Kat mused, thinking of her lost friend and Commander as she dismissed the formation, which was subsequently checked one final time for any loose items and then sent to the waiting Pelicans after final fix-up.

"You okay, Kat?" Corporal Collins asked after the area was cleared of Marines and the two had returned to Kat's "office".

"Just thinking... about old friends," Kat murmured absently, reaching into the hard-case on her leg and pulling out a battered pair of dog tags. As the light glinted off them, Wes saw a name and rank.

Commander Carter-A259. The Corporal winced.

"He died on Reach?" Wes asked.

"As far as I know, yes," Kat replied, a sad undertone lacing her voice as she put the tags back, "I was on the _Autumn_ recovering from the needle shot that had knocked me out; Jun was escorting Dr. Halsey to another base on Reach as Sword Base was destroyed, but Carter, Emile and Melissa were on a new mission. They were headed to the _Autumn_, docked in Aszod_ – _to deliver a clone of Cortana, which held an upgrade of some sort. Apparently, it was a matter of life-and-death; humanity's best chance for survival."

"Certainly looks like it was; if we'd encountered the Covenant anywhere else I doubt the crew would be faring half as well," Wes murmured.

"Emile and Melissa left the Pelican that they and Carter had taken; raced along the ground on a Mongoose... Carter took on most of the air forces in the area by himself... and then they all crossed paths with a Scarab that Emile and Melissa couldn't avoid. They could've beaten it in time, but there was no time, so Carter rammed it..." Kat sighed, "Dot, Noble Team's AI, couldn't get a read on him after that, so Colonel Holland recalled her to his ship before the _Autumn_ left."

"Damn... so you and 312 are completely AI-free now? I mean, I know it doesn't affect you that much; I swear, you're half-AI sometimes," Wes joked, getting a small smile from Kat in response, "But... knowing what I know now, I wonder why Cortana didn't go with the Lieutenant instead of Master Chief."

"When Spartan-B312 asked her that, after I had the Chief take Silva to the brig, Cortana said something about Master Chief's armor being more similar in structure to the _Autumn _than hers; Cortana's physical 'body' was the _Pillar of Autumn _for a good month, so..." Kat shrugged, "She has a bond with the Lieutenant, there's no mistaking that; according to Melissa, Cortana chose **her **for the actual package delivery – no one else on Noble Team. The last thing Carter told her before she and Emile jumped from the Pelican was..."

"That she made the right choice, in choosing the Spartan she did for that mission," Wes deduced.

"Yes."

"I guess she and Eric have that much in common after all," the Corporal smiled weakly, leaning back against a wall, "He cares for your teammate... more than I've seen him care for anyone. He's certainly been as much a brother as I've ever had, and he would certainly jump into battle alongside me – hell; he's done that since we met, years before joining the Marines – but at the same time..."

"The Lieutenant's a Spartan – one of the best – yet he volunteered to back her up anyway." Kat finished.

"Exactly," Wes replied, "It's not hormones, a death wish, or an outburst of emotion – if there's any man who seems to have had hormones and emotions well under control from the onset of puberty, it's Eric '_I-Don't-Need-A-Woman' _Myers, and I know for a fact he's happy with the way things are in his life – but aside from falling in love, I don't know what drove him to do this beyond a genuine care for your Lieutenant 312."

"He loves her." Kat replied with calmness and certainty.

"How can you be sure?"

"You said that Sergeant Myers has tremendous emotional control," Kat noted, "In that regard he's much like a lot of the best soldiers I've met. But I've met a few as well who – even with all that discipline and control – would give everything to help someone they love, even if that person didn't necessarily require their aid."

"You know that feeling yourself, don't you?" Wes realized. Kat nodded.

"I... felt that way with Carter, once; it's why I never requested to join any other Spartan team," Noble Team's hacker admitted sheepishly, chuckling as a thought came to the front of her mind, "I hope Sergeant Myers doesn't do anything nearly as crazy."

"Eric's an ODST, Kat," Wes retorted wryly, "Crazy's part of the job."

* * *

"_Myers, what the hell are you doing!"_ Cortana barked over the COM.

"Backing up the Spartans; what's it look like!" Sergeant Myers retorted as he (miraculously) dodged another shield strike from one of the two Hunters that had stomped into the hangar; Master Chief was handling the other, Lieutenant B312 was backing Myers, and the other ODSTs were handling the remaining hostiles from the previous wave.

"_Frankly it looks like you're committing suicide," _Cortana noted sardonically as the Sergeant jumped back as far as he could, landing in a crouch as the Hunter he'd been baiting landed 'face' down right where he'd been a second before, dead from a pair of sniper shots to its exposed back.

"Maybe in another life, Cortana; but not here in this tub. I've got too much to fight for. Nice shooting, LT!" Myers grinned under his helmet as he turned to pound a Grunt into submission; the muscle behind his attacks did a surprising amount of damage.

"Thanks," B312 replied wryly, "Nice moves, Sarge." The Sergeant threw the Spartan a thumbs-up in response as the group moved ahead, exiting the cargo bay and stopping at a doorway at the end of the corridor the Hunters came from.

"This door is locked; no way through," Parker noted as the door didn't budge an inch, "Any suggestions?"

"There's got to be another way around," Melissa mused, "The side passages, maybe?"

"We'd be sitting ducks in that narrow space," an ODST noted.

"Even Myers here couldn't do much," Parker added.

"Not in those quarters, sir; not without a shotgun."

"We'll hold this position, then," the Staff Sergeant replied, "You two find a way around; get those doors open once that side's clear."

"Understood," Chief replied, already moving back to the cargo bay.

"See you in a few minutes, Marines," Melissa added, following the Chief.

After getting the door open and fighting through the masses of Covenant they encountered on the 5800-foot long vessel, the Master Chief unlocked the doors blocking Parker, Myers and company from following them. They and Lieutenant-312 later entered a massive hangar bay from a series of winding corridors just as a Spirit dropship was leaving.

Seeing something one level up, Melissa took aim with her Sniper Rifle – and fired one silent, solitary clip right through the skull of an Elite, killing it as the Chief shot through two Grunts with one shot, and proceeded to kill another Elite on ground level with the remainder of his Sniper Rifle's clip. The group then moved back into the passage they'd just came from; the door to the hangar shut as the remaining Covenant in the area scurried about in disarray.

"Holy...!" Sergeant Myers hissed, "Chief, your shot was obvious, but Melissa... how'd you see that guy?"

"Gut instinct, Myers," the Lieutenant replied teasingly, "You might want to try it sometime, instead of thinking so much."

"She's got you there, soldier," Parker muttered.

"Can we finish this later?" the Master Chief retorted calmly, "We've got a hangar bay to clear out."

"Agreed," Myers grunted, "Let's move!" The soldiers moved back into the hangar, shredding a Grunt that tried to sneak up on them – and then all the hatches in the hangar opened simultaneously. As Covenant swarmed from the open hatches, Melissa-B312 recalled a line uttered by an ODST Commander she'd encountered in one of her pre-Noble missions.

"Let's show these bastards what humanity can do, gentlemen!" The line was oddly appropriate, given what Melissa-B312 was trying to do for herself.

"Party time, people – **let's do it!**" Parker added heartily, motioning his troops forward. The ODSTs, Marines and Spartans all opened fire, and in seconds it seemed like a dozen different firefights had begun. Wounded and dead soldiers – human and Covenant alike – littered the deck in due time; Spartan-B312 was grateful that Sergeant Myers, Johnson and Master Chief weren't among the casualties, even as she – just as the Chief did – kept her back to a Marine, a pillar or the nearest bulkhead for as much of the battle as possible. As she and the Chief reloaded their respective assault rifles, Melissa saw Myers flip over an overcharged plasma bolt from a Jackal before shooting said Jackal in the face.

_Is he a Marine or a gymnast? Seven-foot tall un-augmented men in armor shouldn't be able to __**do**_ _that!_ Melissa mused as she returned to the fight; shortly after, the Spartans and remaining Marines made it to the other side of the cavernous hangar. Myers bit back a curse as he noticed the doors were locked.

"This entire level's sealed – where to now?" another ODST asked. Melissa noticed her HUD registering the soldier's FOF tag as _'I. Foster, Lance Corporal'_.

"_Hold on, Marine," _Cortana replied, _"I'm going to access the Covenant Battlenet and locate an override code to open a door."_

"Make it quick, ma'am," Foster replied, "We can't hold them off forever."

"_Working on it,"_ Cortana retorted, _"I'd like to see one of you crack a 128,000-bit modulating encryption key," _she added.

"Talk to Kat sometime, Cortana," Melissa retorted wryly as she looked around, watching for hostiles while flanked by Sergeant Myers and the Master Chief, "I bet she'd come pretty close."

"Wes too," Eric smiled under his helmet, "The guy's practically got a 12th level intellect – not that he uses it for himself much, or even admits to having it."

The Spartan-III and the Sergeant heard something akin to well-suppressed laughter from Cortana; under his helmet, the Master Chief raised an eyebrow upon hearing the sound.

"Really funny, soldiers – now, if you'll excuse me, this code isn't going to crack itself."

Suddenly, Covenant appeared from all exits – including the ones the soldiers had exited minutes before... and charged right at the rescuers.

"Like Foster said, Cortana, work as fast as you can," Myers replied calmly, raising his assault rifle and aiming at the horde alongside the others, "Keyes hasn't got all night."

"Marines, let's give them hell!" Parker bellowed, targeting a Grunt and firing his own rifle. The methane-breathing creature's tank was breached, causing him to fly into (and knock out) another Grunt, bounce off the other Grunt and hit a Minor Elite as the tank exploded; the resulting explosion tore down the Elite's shields and left him wounded; Foster shot him. But those weren't the only enemies in the area; indeed, there were other Elites and Jackals about, with a nice helping of Grunts spread throughout the chaos too. The sheer volume of Covenant meant that every soldier was involved in a firefight of some kind. As the Spartans took on the Elites, several mini-firefights occurred between the ODSTs and the smaller Covenant; fallen soldiers from both sides soon littered the deck after a time...

...and then a Hunter pair entered the fray with a bloodcurdling roar each. Melissa and Master Chief both turned and saw Sergeant Myers shoulder his rifle and start backpedalling; they also saw the other Marines step back, and Parker moving back as well after firing the last three shots from his own rifle. As the Hunter attacking him raised its shield, Sergeant Myers moved to the Hunter's right side – and missed its shield strike by a matter of feet before moving behind it. Parker barely dodged his opponent's razor spines – and crashed to the deck as a result.

The Spartans slapped fresh clips of ammo into their rifles, chambered rounds and fired at the Hunters, unwilling to let them at their teammates' exposed flanks. Unfortunately, the enemy were coming in too fast – the Spartans knew they wouldn't get kill-shots in time... and then both Hunters reared up, howled in pain, and crashed to the deck themselves. As the Master Chief examined his weapon in puzzlement, wondering if he'd gotten in a lucky shot, Melissa looked behind the Hunters, where she'd last seen Sergeant Myers – and saw him and Parker both standing tall, holding smoking M6D pistols and breathing heavily with exertion. There was blood flowing from gashes in Parker's side, created by the razor spines of the Hunter he'd been fighting. Both ODSTs were unsteady on their feet, yet Parker found the strength to spit on his fallen opponent's corpse. Myers just clenched his jaw, and glared at the Hunter he'd shot.

"Human, Covenant, _whatever_," the Sergeant growled, "_Nobody_ messes with my friends."

Melissa smiled under her helmet, and took a covering position near Myers, as the Master Chief did for Parker.

"Nice job, both of you," the Spartan-III replied, "Thanks for the save."

"Anytime, swabbie," Parker grinned faintly, picking up his fallen assault rifle and slamming a fresh clip into place.

"Thank **you** for the cover, Spartans," Myers added, "We'd have been vaporized if you hadn't done that."

"Cortana," Melissa asked, "How long until you have that door unlocked?"

"_I got it!" _Cortana replied exultantly, _"Everyone should move through now – I can't guarantee the door won't lock when it closes."_

"Marines, follow the Chief!" Melissa ordered, heading through a small door to her left, following the Chief into the relative safety of the corridors. The next fifteen minutes were akin to a slow-motion nightmare, as the group of soldiers/rescuers fought their way through a maze of narrow corridors, up a series of equally narrow ramps, and onto the upper level of the hangar bay – with Cortana's guidance, they went across that upper level to another set of doors, and back into _more_ corridors. Eventually, after fighting through another fifteen-minute maze, the group reached what appeared to be the ship's bridge. The Spartans both took aim at a single Elite apiece – and two shots later, the Zealot in the room and a Minor were silenced. Aiming again, more Elite crewmembers were silenced – the Marines were (for once, at Parker's suggestion) content to let the Spartans snipe the Elites to death. Once that was done, the roles were reversed as the Spartans only needed to back up the ODSTs once against the bridge's contingent of Grunts; when an overcharged shot of plasma nearly hit Foster in the back, Melissa took the hit without flinching.

"Thanks, Spartan – you ok?" Foster asked.

"I'll live," Melissa replied, "Just gotta clean my armor again when we get back."

"Don't we all," Myers smirked before looking around.

"This looks like their bridge," he added, "The Captain's CNI still transmitting strong, Cortana?"

"_It is,"_ Cortana replied, _"He's got to be nearby."_

"Don't let us slow you down, then," Myers replied, "We'll mind the bridge; keep any Covenant off your backs. We'll have to come back through here to get out anyway. Chief, Lieutenant – you two find Keyes."

"Negative," Melissa retorted calmly, "We're in enemy territory; the Covenant likely have SpecOps on the way here to destroy us. I'll stay here, with you and the others; back you up if Covenant beat the Chief here. Master Chief, find the Captain," the Lieutenant added, "And get him back here in one piece... please. Watch for cloaks on the way; they'll likely register as trace movements on your radar."

"Understood, ma'am," the Master Chief nodded, "I'll be back soon –** with** Captain Keyes."

"I doubt Captain Kat will mind much – but don't let this get back to Silva," Parker replied.

"I won't."

The Chief then sprinted off, into the bowels of the ship.

* * *

"Orders, Lieutenant?" Parker asked.

"You and your squad take up positions around the room," Melissa replied, "Watch the doors, and engage your VISR systems; they're the only decent way to spot cloaked Elites. Myers, with me – we're going to sit right on the bridge itself; I'll snipe, you spot."

"Copy that," Myers nodded. Taking their positions, the soldiers watched and waited. Looking through the scope of her rifle, Melissa decided to get to know her new friend during the lull in the rescue operation.

"Sergeant Myers, talk to me," Melissa smiled, "What the hell's a seven-foot-tall, 300-pound soldier doing in the ODSTs and not the Spartan program? And what's with the acrobatics? I didn't know Marines could do stunts like what you've done."

"I wasn't always a Marine, Lieutenant," Myers grinned, "Before I signed on, I lived on Mars; practiced martial arts and gymnastics straight from childhood, ate as healthy a diet as possible, and trained in Tae Kwon Do and a couple 20th century styles called Jeet Kune Do and Toso Kune Do for fifteen years. Corporal Collins trained in that manner as well, for just as long; our teachers in that training are how we met."

"Your family approved of that?" Melissa blinked, surprised, "You must've been three years old when you started." Myers looked crestfallen as the question registered, causing the female Spartan to inwardly grimace.

"My biological family wasn't really around to give a damn after I turned 16," the Sergeant replied, "My father vanished when I was a child; my mother kept her distance after that = gave me food, clothing, and shelter. I had to fight for everything else, and so I did. Corporal Collins and his father, Alexander, were my family along the way – when my mother vanished three weeks after my seventeenth birthday, the two of them kept me from doing anything stupid; the elder Collins hired me on at Traxus Heavy Industries as part of his security force, after the prep school I was at kicked me out – long story; I'll explain that later."

"Sajnálom; I'm sorry, for your losses," Melissa replied somberly.

"Hungarian, are you?" Myers smiled stiffly, recognizing the phrase.

"I picked up a phrase or two from a friend; Cortana stuck translations in during her brief jaunt in my mind," Melissa retorted, "Don't change the subject, Eric. How'd it go, working at Traxus?" The muscular ODST sighed.

"It was the closest to fun I'd ever had, Six," the Sergeant smiled faintly under his visor, "For one year, when I wasn't training security forces or on guard duty myself, I was learning from Wes and Alexander what normal life was – or as close to normal as we could get, given I was bouncing between Reach and Earth half the time. And then, when the year was up the three of us saw a UNSC recruitment poster... and I joined up; never looked back. Wes followed six months later, complete with his father's blessing."

"How'd you get to be a Sergeant, then? You can't be older than 22." Melissa noted.

"Gunnery Sergeant, technically," Myers smirked sardonically, "I just prefer being called Sarge 'stead of Gunny, and they never did update my IFF during the shit storm at Reach. And as for how I got so high in the enlisted ranks so fast – I only _look_ 22, thanks to cryo. Let's just say I've worked with a friend of yours. Does the name Buck ring any bells?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Buck of the 11th Shock Troop Battalion?" the Spartan-III asked, "I remember – he needed escort to pick up his troops for a classified op while I was in New Alexandria; probably something closer to Kat's current pay grade."

"He's also the only one besides Wes I can call anything resembling family," Myers replied, "Buck was a brother to me when Wes couldn't be; he and I rose through the ranks together, at the same pace, as a team. I was one of the troops he picked up in New Alexandria, though I wasn't an official part of his squad. When his op was over he took me to Aszod at my request, and then left with his squad for Earth."

"I'll have to meet him when we get there," Melissa smiled, before noticing trace movement on the edges of her motion tracker and activating her COM, "Marines – contacts. Watch yourselves."

Half a dozen green lights flared on her HUD, signaling confirmation as the doors opened – revealing two floating Energy Swords, which then proceeded to slice-n-dice the rest of the ODSTs despite Melissa, Foster and Myers' best efforts at hitting the Elites holding them.

_Spec-Ops... I hate when I'm right. _Melissa grimaced; the trace radar movements and yellow outlines were a dead giveaway as to the presence of the high-ranked Elites. The floating Energy Swords were a greater giveaway as well, but could still do serious damage if they got in close – and clearly, these Elites were _good_. With that fact hardened in her mind, she took aim at a high point perpendicular to the hilt of one of the swords, and fired one shot from her sniper rifle.

The Elite under the cloak seemingly fell from nowhere. Scanning the room with his own VISR active, Myers threw a plasma grenade he'd acquired at the VISR-enhanced outline of another Spec-Ops Elite – the grenade stuck, and with a roar that Elite exploded. Unfortunately, the latter Elite had taken out half the ODSTs in the room before Myers stuck him.

"Looks like the last of them," Foster replied, "You two ok?"

"Pissed that we lost the others," Myers growled, "Parker! Are you still alive!"

"Yeah," Parker grimaced, "I'm still ticking. Who else is left?"

"The LT, Foster and me," Myers winced, "So much for the rescue party."

"We're not out yet, Gunnery Sergeant," Melissa retorted calmly, "The Chief's still alive; he and the Captain are en route back here with some other POWs from the _Autumn_. Motion trackers show them... right there."

The doors the Chief exited through opened, revealing the Spartan-II himself, alongside Captain Keyes and half a dozen haggard Marines. The Spartan and Keyes moved towards Melissa, while Myers, Foster and Parker gave the Marines food and wake-up stims. The former child of Harvest looked at the closest she had to family; Keyes had taken a beating in the last twelve hours. While there was no **visible** damage and the older man didn't complain, the Captain's movements were sluggish – and Melissa had noted upon Keyes' entry to the bridge of the _Truth and Reconciliation_ that his breathing was ragged.

_He needs medical attention... but first we've gotta get out of here. Mission's not over yet._

"Captain Keyes," Melissa moved to meet Keyes halfway, extending her hand, "Good to see you still in one piece."

"Same to you, Lieutenant B312," Keyes smiled stiffly and shook the offered hand, "Enjoy the ride down?"

"I did – there's nothing like riding in a Drop Pod, sir."

"Indeed there isn't," Keyes replied wryly, before looking up – and noticing Myers standing next to Melissa, "Gunnery Sergeant Myers, what are you doing?"

"In your absence, sir, Captain Kat – Spartan-B320 – appointed me as the Lieutenant's attaché; I hope that's not a problem," the seven-foot ODST replied.

"No problem at all, Myers; guard her well," Keyes nodded, and began his explanation.

"While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world, and its abilities. They call it... '_Halo'_," Keyes paused to let the name sink in.

"_One moment, sir,"_ Cortana interjected, _"I'm accessing the Covenant Battle Net." _Pausing, Cortana let her vastly powerful intrusion protocols sifted through the Covenant's systems, finishing seconds later.

"_According to their data, the ring has some sort of deep religious significance," _the AI explained, _"If I'm interpreting this correctly, they believe Halo to be a weapon of some sort – one with vast, unimaginable power."_

Keyes nodded thoughtfully, "The Covenant who were interrogating me kept saying that 'whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the universe.'"

"_Now I see," _Cortana replied, equally thoughtful, _"I've intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team scouting for a control room. I thought they were looking for the bridge of a ship I damaged during the battle above the ring – but they must be looking for _Halo's _control room."_

"That's a bad sign if I've ever heard one," Myers muttered gravely.

"Indeed," Keyes added, "If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us."

"Against all of Humanity, eventually," Melissa noted, "That kind of power..." Keyes nodded.

"Chief, Cortana – I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room."

"No offense, sir," the Chief replied, "but it might be best to finish _this_ mission first."

"Good point," Keyes grinned tiredly, "Marines – let's move!"

"Yes, sir!" the Marines as a whole replied.

"Chief – you have the point," Keyes added, picking up a fallen Needler, "Lieutenant, watch our backs; Myers, cover her."

"Understood," Melissa and Myers nodded, moving into position as the soldiers fell in line. The Spartan-III held back a smile as she noticed the Marines – even the former POWs – covering the Captain from all sides as they moved following Cortana's suggestion of returning to the shuttle bay.

"I doubt any of us want to **walk** home, sir," the Lieutenant joked, "You, Chief and I are Navy, last I checked – we prefer to ride."

"No kidding, Lieutenant," Keyes smiled, "No kidding."

After numerous twists and turns, the group had reentered the shuttle bay… and saw two light wands floating side by side in mid-air.

"Chief, take left – I'll take right," Spartan-B312 murmured, raising her Sniper Rifle as the Chief raised his sidearm. Half a clip each later, two Elites de-cloaked and caught their own entrails before fire rained at them from all sides. As the two late SpecOps slid off the floor's edge, Cortana got to work.

"_Cortana to Echo 419; we have the Captain and need extraction on the double."_

"_Negative, Cortana,"_ Carol "Foehammer" Rawley replied over the COM, _"I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I'm having a tough time shaking 'em. You'd be better off finding your own ride – sorry."_

"_Understood, Foehammer – Cortana out."_

"Aw, man, we're trapped in here!" a POW moaned, "We're screwed – we're screwed, man!"

"Stow the bellyaching, soldier – remember you're a leatherneck!" Keyes growled, "Cortana, if you can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us out of here."

"_Yes, Captain," _the AI replied, _"There's a Phantom dropship still docked."_

Noting the waypoint's location on her HUD, Spartan-B312 took point and led the others through a hatch, down a series of corridors, and into the dropship bay… which unfortunately for them, was well-defended. As the Spartans went for their assault rifles, Myers barked an order.

"Marines, cover the Captain – Foster, Parker; that means you too! The Spartans and I will watch your backs; you get to the ship!"

"Give 'em hell, Myers," Keyes nodded appreciatively as the Gunnery Sergeant pulled out his own rifle and bashed a Grunt in the face. However, that didn't make a dent in the veritable sea of Covenant that was coming their way. As the ODST shot, punched, kicked, stabbed and blasted his way to the side of his Spartan comrades (who were both fighting with the same ferocity) he saw the Master Chief hurl his assault rifle at an Elite – having used up all the ammo he had for the weapon.

_Shit._

If a Spartan was out of ammo, then things were getting **bad**. Thankfully, Myers noted, the others had made it to the last Phantom docked in the bay.

"If we're going," Master Chief called, "we need to go **now**!"

"We're running low on ammo here!" Melissa added.

"Everyone mount up – let's get on board!" Keyes ordered as the side hatch facing the group opened As the Marines entered the dropship, Myers looked towards Melissa.

"You two had better be right behind me!" the former martial artist growled, entering the Phantom.

After Master Chief ensured everyone else was inside, he dove into the closing troop bay with a single round in his sidearm. Keyes smiled tiredly after peeling out of the hangar bay.

"Lieutenant Sierra 312?"

"Yes, Captain?" Melissa replied, moving to stand next to Keyes.

"Thanks. Coming to that ship was reckless – but I understand why you did it." Keyes responded.

"Military code, sir," Melissa retorted calmly, "No one gets left behind." _Besides which, the Covenant took away the rest of my family,_ the Spartan-III recalled grimly. _I'm not losing you too, Uncle Jake._

"Of course," Keyes smiled, "So where'd all the _Autumn_ survivors hole up?"

"Alpha Base, sir," Melissa answered, "Shall I fly us there?"

"Lead the way, Noble Six." After handing the controls off to the Lieutenant, Keyes stood back – but didn't rest. He wouldn't rest until arrival at Alpha Base.

As she glanced at her unofficial uncle out of the corner of her eye, Melissa made a decision; Whatever mission Keyes was taking on next, the Spartan-III would be right by his side. She couldn't have known at that point that Myers had made the same decision regarding her...

...or what the consequences of such a decision would be.


End file.
